Salad Week: Buffalo Chicken Salad

This salad could be called the surprise salad. I discovered it by accident, but I love it so much that I have been eating it for the past two weeks and can't get enough! Technically, this salad came into existence a long time ago,  but had I never met Kris I would have never discovered my favorite salad! 

When we met I did not eat very many vegetables at all and rarely ate a salad (if ever). I was the person in a restaurant that would order a burger and say, "Hold all the healthy toppings please." Kris, on the other hand, loved vegetables. He was the first person I ever met that talked about them in a way that made me want to eat them too. If you know my husband, you know that he is super charismatic. He can make friends with anybody and anything. He has a way about him that can bring life and energy into anything he is doing. And truly, this is what happened with Kris, me and vegetables. He would say things like, "You don't like spinach? Spinach is awesome. Spinach is so healthy. Spinach is packed with nutrients. Spinach is like the best thing you can eat." I would sit there and literally think, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I am missing out on something so amazing as spinach. I need to try spinach right now. RIGHT NOW." He was never trying to manipulate me into eating vegetables; he simply was just describing how much he really loved vegetables. His attitude and mindset was so contagious that I caught on quickly. 

Slowly but surely I began to try and eat new vegetables. Then, Subway happened. Ever since I can remember (and I'm talking as far back in my childhood as I can remember) I have always ordered the same sub at Subway: tuna on wheat bread with extra pickles. That is honest to gooodness one of my very favorite meals. I LOVE that sub. So Kris and I would go to Subway and I would order my sub and he would order his: buffalo chicken, spinach, tomato, jalapeno, pickles, hold the cheese, hold the ranch on wheat. Being the girl in the relationship, I started to feel like a fatty fatty two by four every time we went out. Eventually, and I like to think it was me...although it may have been him, one of us came up with the idea to get a foot long (his style) and split it. He raved so much about it and promised me that it was so good and the truth? I loved it. It was delicious. So most of the time I started ordering this sub instead of my good ol' tuna. 

Eventually, we realized that we could make this exact same sandwich at home for a fraction of the price and so for a while we did. Until last week. Whew. Finally we are caught up to speed. Last week, we decided to have lettuce wraps for dinner. Kris made his southwestern style with beans, corn, tomatoes, chicken and cheese, and I went for the Subway classic. Sliced chicken (cooked in the skillet with a dash of salt and pepper), spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno, pickles and a little bit of buffalo sauce. Halfway through eating it and realizing that my lettuce was not doing such a great job of wrapping, I realized that I would be better off cutting it all up, tossing it together and eating it with a fork.....A SALAD! Mind blown. 

Here's the thing. Ever since I was little part of my problem with salad was the dressing. I hate most salad dressing. I generally do not like the "classics" of Ranch, Italian, French, Thousand Island etc although in recent years I have learned that I enjoy a few vinaigrettes. The lettuce wrap turned salad I made excited me so much because I realized I could use substitutes for dressing and enjoy a salad the way I like. I could use buffalo sauce, hummus, bbq sauce, salsa or even mayonnaise as salad dressings! My mind started racing with all the possibilities. Seriously, think of your favorite sandwich or burger. Think about the toppings you put on it. Now think about the condiment you put on it. BAM! Remove the bun, add extra lettuce and you have a salad! 

So, today's salad is a tribute to sandwiches, to alternative dressings and to deliciousness. I must warn you that if you try mine you will experience heat and spice...just the way I like it! 

Buffalo Chicken Salad 

(Today I made mine without the chicken. It is good either way.) 

Ingredients: 

Romaine lettuce 

Spinach

Tomato

Sandwich pickles

Jalapeno (in a jar or raw)

... if you use raw I would recommend only two or three rings of it. 

Buffalo sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce)

Chicken 

Extra Ingredients: 

(You may want to add a little bit of these to off-set the heat.) 

Ranch dressing (I added a little bit of this to today's salad.)

Cheese (I added a few blue cheese crumbles.)

Additional veggies

Directions: 

1. Cook chicken (if using) however you generally prepare chicken. Usually I will a) thaw the chicken, season with salt and pepper, slice and toss into a skillet or b) put chicken in a crockpot, cover with water, set on high for 4 hours, remove and shred. 

2. Chop tomatoes, pickles and jalapeno (if raw). Word to the wise: less raw jalapeno is more. I made this mistake the second time I made this salad. If you enjoy raw jalapeno and want more of it then you may want to remove the seeds. The seeds add WAY more heat. 

3. Wash and dry lettuce and spinach (or if you weren't raised by my mom just open the bag and use immediately ;-) ) and put in bowl. 

4. Top with chicken, tomato, pickles, jalapeno, buffalo sauce (use sparingly) and any other additional ingredients. 

5. Enjoy! 

Don't forget to check in and see what Cass and Tracey are making. I seriously wish they would come and cook for me! Also, remember it is not too late to join in the fun. Two of my friends (Daisy and Sally) have posted about salads they make, and I can't wait to try those out, too! You don't have to have a blog to participate. Leave a comment, post on FB, take a pic and upload it to Instagram...whatever suits you best!